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Original
Computer attitudes, cognitive abilities, and
technology usage among older Japanese adults
December 2004,
Vo l 3 ,
No 2
Hiroyuki Umemuro PhD
Tokyo Institute of Technology
Department of Industrial Engineering and Management
2-12-1 O-okayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552 Japan.
e-mail: [email protected].
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
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H. Umemuro, Computer attitudes, cognitive abilities, and technology usage among older
Japanese adults. Gerontechnology 2004; 3(2): 64-76. This study investigates the relationships
among computer attitudes, cognitive abilities, and the usage of various technologies among
older Japanese adults. Methods. Fifty Japanese adults, 32 males and 18 females, aged 60 to 80,
participated. Participants' experience of usage and possession of 18 products and services that
utilize various technologies were investigated by questionnaire. The Attitudes Toward Computers
Questionnaire (ATCQ) was employed to assess the computer attitudes of the participants. Spatial
visualization, spatial orientation, associative memory, perceptual speed, and field independence
were measured using the Kit for Factor-Referenced Cognitive Tests. Results showed a variation
in the percentages of participants who had used the assessed products and services (usage ratio)
from 8% to 94%. Gender difference could be seen only in the Control subscale of the ATCQ
scores, while a significant gender difference could be seen in all cognitive ability factors
examined except for associative memory. More positive computer attitudes, especially regarding
Comfort and Interest, were related not only to greater usage of computers but also to the greater
usage of a number of computerized products and services. Some of the computer attitude
subscales were also found to be related to the usage of products and services whose usage ratios
were relatively low. On the other hand, higher cognitive abilities, especially spatial abilities and
field independence, were related to the use of products and services whose usage ratio were
relatively high. Discussion. The implications of the results include the possibilities of mutual
relationships among computer attitudes, cognitive abilities, and technology usage among older
adults, utilization of one of these factors as a predictor for others, as well as for the design of
interventions and training strategies.
Keywords: cognitive ability, cognitive style, field dependence, computer attitude
Among the world’s developed countries,
Japan has one of the most rapidly aging
populations as the number and percentage
of the elderly has been increasing for
decades. The proportion of the population
aged 65 and over, which was 17.4% in
20001, is estimated to reach 35% in
20502.
On the other hand, new
technologies have been rapidly introduced
into daily lives of the general population
as well as into workplaces; potentially,
older adults are among those who can
benefit most from utilizing them3. A wide
variety of assistive technologies are in
place for people whose physical or
cognitive functions are declining.
Information
and
communication
technologies should be able to support
older people in their independence,
socialization, health promotion, and for
the provision of caregiving services,
especially in cases of mobility constraints.
Therefore supporting the elderly in making
use of new technologies has become
increasingly important.
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One factor likely to influence the use of
technology is people’s attitude towards it.
Computer attitude5 and computer anxiety6
have been studied in relation to computer
usage. Ellis and Allaire7 showed that
computer anxiety is a major factor
influencing older users’ intent to use
computers. Umemuro and Shirokane8
demonstrated
a
positive
attitude,
especially the factor representing users’
liking of computers, was a reliable
predictor of actual computer usage in the
long term. However, relationships
between attitudes and usage of
technologies other than computers have
seldom been studied. One of the reasons is
the difficulty of constructing attitude
measurement
tools
for
general
technologies. Efforts to establish such a
general attitude score by Frantom, Green,
and Hoffman9 reported difficulties in
including a wide variety of technologies in
a limited number of questionnaire items.
In their questionnaire the word
‘technology’, instead of specific product
categories, was used to refer to a broad
range of technologies, which might bring
ambiguity into subjects’ understanding of
It has been a general belief that older adults
have more negative attitudes toward
technology such as computers than their
younger counterpart. Based on a survey
study in the 1980s, Brickfield10 reported
that older adults were more negative
towards technologies and less willing to
use them. However, recent research has
failed to ascertain any significant difference
between older and younger participants1116. The work of Dyck and Smither17
suggested an age difference such that older
participants had more positive attitudes
toward computers than the younger
participants, as well as a lower confidence
about their ability to use computers. Czaja
and Sharit18 employed the Attitude Towards
Computer Questionnaire19, a sevendimensional computer attitude scale, and
reported that although there was no age
difference in overall attitude, there were
age effects for four (Comfort, Efficacy,
Dehumanization, and Control) of seven
subscales. These results imply the necessity
of using a multidimensional computer
attitude scale for the assessment of older
adults’ attitude towards technology.
Other possible factors that are thought to
influence technology usage are cognitive
abilities. Among cognitive abilities that
have been studied, spatial ability has been
reported to relate to the usage and learning
of computer skills20-23. Cognitive styles,
such as field independence, were also
Vo l 3 ,
December 2004,
the target technology. They also argued the
necessity of including a larger number of
alternatives to target technologies in order
to assess subjects’ preferences between
them, which might also be difficult with a
limited number of questionnaire items.
Therefore, if well-established measurements to assess attitude toward one
technology, namely computers, can also
be used to predict the usage of other
technologies, these would be convenient
tools to assess individual differences in
technology usage.
65
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
Meanwhile, to what extent older people
are actually using technologies shows
great diversity among individuals. In 2001,
while 44.0% of the Japanese population
utilized the Internet, the fraction remained
at 15.9% for adults in their sixties4. This
implies that while some older adults might
be using computers as much as younger
generations do, many others might be
reluctant to adopt them. Understanding
the factors contributing to these individual
differences in technology usage should
have implications for the design of
products and training for older adults,
which could well incorporate the
individuals’
characteristics.
Such
interventions are expected to support
broader utilization of technologies among
the elderly, as well as among their younger
counterparts.
No 2
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66
studied in relation to the performance of
hypermedia usage24,25. In addition to these
two factors, perceptual speed is also
considered to be important for usage of
technologies including computers20,
because some new technologies such as
computers often present large amounts of
information to users and also require
visuomotor control in their operation.
However, visual perception26 and motor
control27 also decline with aging. Memory
is also expected to influence an older
adults’ use of technologies, while declines
of memory functions with aging are also
observed28,29. Among a number of memory
functions, this study focuses on associative
memory. Associative memory is the
function that associates specific input
representations
to
specific
output
representations such that when one is
encountered, the other can be recalled. This
memory function is considered to play an
important role in remembering interface
presentations and user goals in association
with operation procedures. Thus associative
memory is expected to determine learning
performance significantly.
The purpose of this study is to investigate
the relationships among computer
attitude, cognitive abilities, and the usage
of a wide variety of technologies, aiming
to clarify the factors that influence older
adults’ technology usage. These relations
are investigated and compared across the
technologies to find the differences in
what factors are relevant to what
technologies. This study focuses on a
detailed investigation of individuals’
attitudes and cognitive abilities in relation
to their use of technologies, rather than the
general tendency of technology usage
among an older population.
METHODS
Participants
Fifty Japanese adults aged between 60 and
80 yrs (M = 66.8, SD = 4.8) participated
voluntarily in this study. Of these, 32 were
male (age: M = 66.7, SD = 4.8) and 18
female (age: M = 66.9, SD = 5.0).
Participants applied to participate in this
study in response to advertisements on
regional newspapers. All participants
resided in suburban Tokyo.
Procedure
The investigation was conducted between
October 2002 and April 2003. Participants
gathered in groups, which consisted of
seven to ten people at one time, at local
sites. They had the purpose and outline of
the research explained, and it was
confirmed to them that they reserved the
right to decline to offer personal
information and/or terminate their
participation at any time during the
investigation. Participants were then asked
to complete the survey questionnaire,
which was in three parts. Part 1 sought
participants’ demographic data and health
condition. Part 2 asked about usage
experience and possession of various
products and services using modern
technologies. Part 3 assessed participants’
computer attitudes. Following a 10 min.
intermission, each participant received a
battery of cognitive ability tests. There
were five tests corresponding to five
cognitive abilities. All participants in a
group took the test simultaneously,
conducted by the investigator. With a 5
min. intermission in the middle, the testing
took about 90 min. to complete.
Measurements
The questionnaire and test batteries used
in this study were adapted from those
developed by the Center for Research and
Education on Aging and Technology
Enhancement (CREATE)30. The original
battery of questionnaires and tests was
developed for the Center’s primary activity
aiming to develop a comprehensive
database on aging and technology that
would consist of information regarding
user preference and needs, problems with
existing systems, and efficiency of design
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A t t i t u d e , a b i l i t y, a n d t e c h n o l o g y u s a g e
Technology usage was assessed by a
questionnaire asking participants their
experiences and possession of 18 products
and services based on modern
technologies. These were: answering
machine, touchscreen type automatic
teller machine (ATM), car cruise control,
car navigation system, CD player, cellular
phone, computer, computerized catalog in
a library, copier, e-mail, facsimile (fax),
home security system, microwave oven,
self-service gas station, video camera,
video game, video player/recorder (VCR),
and the World Wide Web (WWW).
Participants’ computer attitudes were
investigated using the Attitudes Toward
Computers Questionnaire (ATCQ)19, a 35item multidimensional scale for assessing
seven dimensions of attitude toward
computers that has been used in some
recent studies8,18,20. Seven subscales
corresponding to the attitude dimensions
were: feelings of comfort with the
computer and its use (‘Comfort’), feelings
of competence with the computer
(‘Efficacy’), the belief that computers are
Participants’ cognitive abilities were
assessed using the Kit of Factor-Referenced
Cognitive Tests developed by Educational
Testing Service31. As noted above, five
tests corresponding to five cognitive
abilities were selected and applied: two
spatial abilities: visualization (VZ2) and
orientation (S2), associative memory
(MA1), perceptual speed (P2), and field
independence
(CF1).
To
allow
comparisons with previous studies
reporting scores for the same cognitive
tests, the scores were used for further
analysis without conversion.
RESULTS
Technology use
Table 1 summarizes the percentages of
participants who reported experiences
with or possession of the products and
services. This study was not aiming to
investigate the penetration of technologies
in general, thus the results in Table 1 may
Vo l 3 ,
December 2004,
Participants responded to each item by a
five point Likert scale between 1 (strongly
agree) and 5 (strongly disagree). Responses
were converted, so that larger numbers
represent more positive attitudes, and
summed to obtain scores for each
subscale. Each subscale consists of five
(Comfort, Efficacy, Gender Equality,
Control,
and
Interest)
or
six
(Dehumanization and Utility) items; that
is, one item in each of Dehumanization
and Utility also belongs to one of the
subscales. Thus subscale scores ranged
between 5 and 25, or 6 and 30,
respectively.
No 2
important to both men and women
(‘Gender Equality’), the belief that people
control computers (‘Control’), the belief
that computers are dehumanizing
(‘Dehumanization’), the extent to which
participants are interested in learning
about and using computers (‘Interest’), and
the belief that computers are useful
(‘Utility’).
67
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
solutions. The original set was designed to
probe various information including older
adults’ demographics, health status,
cognitive and physical abilities, and
attitudes and anxiety towards computers.
Conducting whole sessions of the original
set required multiple days of on-site
assessments plus an extra home
assessment. For the present study only
relevant sections were selected and put
together so that the assessment could be
conducted within a few hours. Some
questionnaire items and test items were
modified or appended according to the
purpose of this study and the social
circumstances
existent
in
Japan.
Participants’ background information such
as occupational status and education were
not included because this study focused
on the relationship between cognitive
abilities, attitudes, and technology usage.
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A t t i t u d e , a b i l i t y, a n d t e c h n o l o g y u s a g e
Table 1: Percentages of participants who reported any experience and/or possession of
technology products / services (N = 50). Products and services are listed in descending
order of overall experience ratios. Asterisk indicates significance levels of chi-square tests
between gender groups (=0.05)
Experience (%)
Possession (%)
Male
Female
Total
Male
Female
(n=50)
(n=32)
(n=18)
(n=50)
(n=32)
(n=18)
Microwave oven
94
94
94
98
97
100
Automatic teller machine (ATM)
94
91
100
-
-
-
Copier
92
100
78
48
56
33
Facsimile
90
100
72
76
88
56
Answering machine
88
91
83
82
81
83
78
94
50
76
84
61
Computer
78
88
61
66
78
44
CD player
68
69
67
70
66
78
Vo l 3 ,
Total
Video player/recorder (VCR)
December 2004,
No 2
Product / service
World Wide Web (WWW)
66
78
44
-
-
-
Cellular phone
62
72
44
52
56
44
E-mail
54
66
33
-
-
-
Computerized library catalogue
30
41
11
-
-
-
Video camera
26
38
6*
14
19
6
Video game
26
31
17
22
25
17
Car navigation system
16
25
0
12
19
0
Car cruise control
14
19
6
12
16
6
Self-operated gas station
14
22
0
-
-
-
Home security system
8
6
11
8
6
11
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
68
not be representative of the technology
usage by the general population of older
Japanese adults. Indeed, the relatively high
experience ratios suggested that the
subject sample represented a population
who were relatively adaptive to
technologies. Nonetheless, Table 1
suggests the existence of a variation in
utilization across participants and also
across the kinds of products/services.
A series of chi-square tests were conducted to investigate gender differences in
technology usage. Significant gender
difference was only found in video camera
use, for which more male participants
reported experience than female. Only
male participants reported usage
experiences for the car navigation system
and a self-operated gas station, although
statistically not significant (chi2 (df = 1) =
3.658 and 2.942, respectively). However,
as mentioned above, these existence and
lack of gender difference might due to the
specific sample employed in this study,
and might not be representative for wider
categories of Japanese older population.
For each of the products/services,
participants were divided into two groups:
a group of participants who had
experiences with the product/service (‘use’
group) and a group of participants who
had no experience with it (‘non-use’
group). There were two reasons that
experience was used as the usage index.
First, possession may have a higher
threshold than experience; it might be
easier to try somebody else’s product,
while buying might be a more complex
decision influenced by many factors,
including economic status. Second, the
possession in households may not
necessarily be representative of actual
usage, as seen in female participants’
experiences and the realities of the
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A t t i t u d e , a b i l i t y, a n d t e c h n o l o g y u s a g e
Table 2: Means and standard deviations
(in parentheses) of Attitudes Toward
Computers Questionnaire (ATCQ)
subscale scores. (N = 50). Asterisk
indicates significance in the t test
between two gender groups (=0.01)
Total
Male
(n=32)
Female
(n=18)
Comfort
17.1 (3.4)
17.6 (3.6)
16.1 (2.7)
Efficacy
17.2 (2.4)
17.5 (2.6)
16.7 (2.1)
Gender Equality
15.9 (2.8)
16.0 (3.1)
15.6 (2.0)
Subscales
Control
18.7 (2.3)
19.4 (1.9)
17.5 (2.4)*
Dehumanization
21.1 (3.4)
21.5 (3.7)
20.6 (2.8)
Interest
19.2 (2.9)
19.4 (3.0)
18.8 (2.8)
Utility
20.5 (3.9)
21.1 (3.9)
19.2 (3.5)
Computer attitudes and usage
Table 2 summarizes ATCQ subscale scores
of all participants and by gender groups. A
series of t tests revealed that a significant
gender difference could be seen only in
the Control subscale, where males showed
more positive attitudes. Again, the
existence or lack of gender difference
No 2
Vo l 3 ,
ATCQ subscale scores were then compared between usage groups for each
product/service. Table 3 summarizes the
results of the comparisons. A series of t-tests
revealed that the use group for computers
showed significantly higher scores in
Comfort, Dehumanization, Interest, and
Utility subscales than the non-use group.
All these subscales indicated more positive
attitudes for users, which is in line with
previous studies reporting the relation
between computer usage and positive
attitudes including Liking or Interest. In
addition, the use groups of two services
that directly utilize computers, namely the
WWW and e-mail, also showed higher
scores in these subscales.
December 2004,
There were three products and services
whose usage ratios were higher than 90%,
and one product whose usage ratio was
lower than 10%. Comparisons between
usage groups for these products/services
may be less informative, because of small
numbers in one of the usage group pairs.
Careful interpretations and discussions are
needed for the comparison results of these
products and services. The issue will be
further discussed in the Discussion
section.
might be due to the specific sample
employed in this study, and might not be
representative for wider categories of the
Japanese older population.
69
For a number of other computerized
products, the same tendency that positive
attitudes were associated with usage could
also be seen. The use group of ATMs was
significantly higher in Comfort subscale,
and moderately higher in Efficacy and
Gender Equality subscales. The use group
of facsimiles was significantly higher in
Comfort and Utility subscales. Cellular
phone users were significantly higher in
Comfort subscale and moderately higher
in Interest. Computerized library catalog
users were only moderately higher in
Comfort and Dehumanization subscales.
Car navigation users were significantly
higher in Gender Equality and Utility subscales, and moderately higher in Comfort,
Dehumanization, and Interest subscales.
Finally, the use group of self-operated gas
stations showed significantly higher scores
in Comfort and Utility, and moderately
higher scores in Gender Equality,
Dehumanization, and Interest subscales.
It is also noteworthy that all four products
and services whose usage ratios were less
than 20% showed significant differences
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
possession of microwave ovens and VCRs.
Therefore, experience was considered to
be a better index representing participants’
willingness to try new technologies. The
percentage of the participants who had
experienced a product/service will be
further referred to as the product’s ‘usage
ratio’. Then attitudes and cognitive abilities
were compared between these two usage
groups for each product/service.
70
December 2004,
Vo l 3 ,
No 2
Home security system
Self-operated gas station
Car cruise control
Car navigation system
Video game
Video camera
Computerized library catalogue
E-mail
Cellular phone
World Wide Web
CD player
Efficacy
17.3(2.5)
16.0 (1.0)
17.4 (2.3)+
14.7 (3.2)
17.3 (2.3)
16.5 (3.7)
17.2 (2.5)
17.2 (1.9)
17.2 (2.5)
17.5 (1.9)
17.3 (2.6)
17.0 (1.8)
17.5 (2.3)+
16.2 (2.6)
17.6 (2.0)
16.6 (3.0)
17.5 (2.2)
16.7 (2.8)
17.6 (2.6)
16.6 (2.0)
17.6 (2.4)
16.8 (2.4)
17.6 (1.9)
17.1 (2.6)
17.9 (2.3)
17.0 (2.4)
17.2 (2.0)
17.3 (2.6)
17.8 (2.8)
17.1 (2.3)
18.1 (2.5)
17.1 (2.4)
18.3 (2.6)
17.1 (2.4)
19.3 (3.1)+
17.1 (2.3)
16.0
15.0
16.1
13.0
15.9
16.3
15.8
16.6
15.6
18.0
16.2
14.9
16.1
15.0
16.2
15.3
16.3
15.0
15.6
16.4
16.4
15.2
15.5
16.1
16.5
15.7
15.9
15.9
19.1
15.3
17.9
15.6
18.6
15.5
14.8
16.0
(2.8)
(1.0)
(2.6)+
(3.5)
(2.8)
(2.5)
(2.8)
(2.9)
(2.5)*
(4.0)
(2.9)
(1.9)
(2.7)
(3.1)
(2.9)
(2.3)
(2.8)
(2.4)
(2.8)
(2.7)
(3.0)
(2.3)
(1.2)
(3.2)
(3.1)
(2.6)
(1.6)
(3.1)
(4.5)*
(1.7)
(3.5)*
(2.5)
(3.8)+
(2.3)
(0.5)*
(2.9)
Gender Equality
(2.3)
(1.0)
(2.3)
(1.0)
(2.2)
(2.5)
(2.3)
(1.8)
(2.0)
(3.7)
(2.0)**
(2.4)
(2.3)
(2.1)
(2.2)
(2.3)
(2.4)
(2.0)
(1.9)
(2.8)
(2.2)
(2.3)
(2.2)
(2.3)
(2.0)
(2.4)
(1.7)
(2.4)
(2.5)
(2.2)
(2.3)
(2.3)
(1.9)
(2.3)
(2.6)
(2.3)
Control
18.7
18.0
18.7
19.0
18.8
17.3
18.8
17.4
18.6
19.7
19.2
17.0
18.7
18.6
18.5
19.1
18.7
18.6
18.6
19.0
19.0
18.3
19.1
18.5
19.0
18.6
19.4
18.5
19.3
18.6
18.0
18.8
18.6
18.7
18.5
18.7
21.3 (3.4)
18.7(2.3)
21.3 (3.4
18.3 (2.5)
21.2 (3.5)
20.8 (0.5)
21.2 (3.5)
20.2 (2.5)
21.2 (3.4)
20.5 (3.6)
21.6 (3.5)+
19.6 (2.3)
21.7 (3.4)*
19.1 (2.5)
21.7 (3.2)+
20.0 (3.5)
22.1 (3.1)**
19.3 (3.2)
21.5 (3.2)
20.6 (3.8)
22.2 (3.1)*
19.9 (3.3)
22.4 (3.5)+
20.6 (3.2)
21.5 (2.8)
21.0 (3.6)
20.8 (3.3)
21.2 (3.5)
23.0 (2.7)+
20.8 (3.4)
22.1 (2.3)
21.0 (3.5)
23.1 (2.7)+
20.8 (3.4)
22.0 (4.5)
21.1 (3.3)
Dehumanization
(2.9)
(3.0)
(2.9)
(1.5)
(3.0)
(2.2)
(3.0)
(1.2)
(2.5)
(5.5)
(2.9)
(3.0)
(3.0)*
(1.7)
(2.2)
(3.8)
(2.1)**
(3.6)
(2.3)+
(3.6)
(2.2)*
(3.3)
(2.1)
(3.2)
(2.5)+
(3.0)
(2.0)
(3.1)
(2.0)+
(2.9)
(2.4)
(3.0)
(1.9)+
(3.0)
(3.4)
(2.9)
Interest
19.3
17.0
19.3
16.7
19.2
19.3
19.2
19.0
19.2
19.2
19.4
18.6
19.6
17.6
19.7
18.1
20.0
17.5
19.7
18.2
20.0
18.2
20.0
18.8
20.3
18.8
19.9
18.9
21.0
18.8
20.4
19.0
20.6
18.9
19.8
19.1
Utility
20.6 (3.9)
18.3 (2.5)
20.6 (3.9)
17.7 (2.3)
20.5 (4.0)
19.8 (1.7)
20.7 (4.0)**
18.4 (1.1)
20.4 (3.7)
20.7 (5.4)
21.0 (3.7)*
18.5 (4.0)
21.3 (3.8)**
17.5 (2.2)
21.1 (3.7)+
19.0 (3.9)
21.7 (3.6)**
18.1 (3.4)
20.9 (3.7)
19.7 (4.0)
22.2 (3.3)**
18.5 (3.6)
21.4 (3.2)
20.1 (4.1)
21.9 (3.4)+
19.9 (3.9)
21.0 (3.6)
20.3 (4.0)
23.9 (3.3)**
19.8 (3.6)
22.7 (4.0)+
20.1 (3.7)
24.0 (3.3)**
19.9 (3.7)
22.0 (3.4)
20.3 (3.9)
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Computer
Video player/recorder
Answering machine
Facsimile
Copier
ATM
(3.4)
(2.5)
(3.1)*
(4.9)
(3.4)
(2.9)
(3.5)**
(0.5)
(3.3)
(4.5)
(3.5)
(2.8)
(3.1)**
(2.7)
(2.6)+
(4.5)
(2.7)**
(3.7)
(3.3)*
(3.2)
(2.5)**
(3.6)
(2.5)+
(3.6)
(2.4)*
(3.4)
(3.2)
(3.4)
(2.2)+
(3.5)
(2.6)+
(3.4)
(2.1)*
(3.4)
(2.6)
(3.4)
Comfort
17.2
14.7
17.4
12.7
17.2
15.3
17.3
15.4
17.2
16.3
17.3
16.1
17.9
14.1
17.7
15.6
18.2
14.9
17.9
15.7
18.4
15.4
18.5
16.5
19.1
16.4
18.2
16.7
18.9
16.7
19.0
16.8
19.4
16.7
19.5
16.9
Microwave oven
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Products / Services
Table 3: Means and standard deviations (in parentheses) of Attitudes Toward Computers Questionnaire (ATCQ) subscale scores by usage
groups of products / services (N = 50). Symbols indicate significance levels of t tests between usage groups: ** p < .01; * p < .05; + p <
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
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Table 4: Means and standard deviations
(in parentheses) of cognitive tests scores
(N = 47). Asterisks indicate significance
levels of t tests between two gender
groups: *** p < .001; ** p < .01
Total
Male
(n=31)
Female
(n=16)
Spatial visualization
7.5 (3.8)
8.8 (3.4)
5.0 (3.2)**
Spatial orientation
8.0 (9.5)
8.8 (3.4)
0.4 (7.4)***
Subscales
Associative Memory 14.3 (6.4)
14.2 (6.2) 14.4 (7.0)
Perceptual speed
37.7 (10.3) 29.6 (8.4)**
Field independence
35.0 (10.4)
8.3 (6.3)
10.7 (6.2)
3.7 (3.5)***
Finally, it is also noteworthy that among
the products whose usage ratios were
lower than 50%, the use groups of video
games and car navigation systems showed
significantly higher scores in spatial
visualization. Users of car navigation
systems also showed moderately higher
scores in spatial orientation. These results
are also discussed in the next section.
DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to
investigate the relationship between
computer attitudes, cognitive abilities, and
technology usage of older Japanese adults.
Vo l 3 ,
December 2004,
Cognitive abilities and usage
As three of the fifty participants did not
complete the cognitive ability test battery,
their data were excluded from any further
analysis. Table 4 summarizes the scores of
the cognitive tests employed in this study.
In contrast to computer attitudes,
significant gender differences could be
seen in most of the cognitive abilities
examined except for associative memory;
male participants showed higher scores in
spatial visualization, spatial orientation,
and perceptual speed, and showed a more
field-independent
cognitive
style.
Cognitive ability test scores were then
compared between usage groups of each
product or service. Table 5 summarizes the
results of the comparisons. Spatial abilities
and field independence appeared to be
related to the use of computers, the WWW
and e-mail, which is in line with previous
studies.
The results also showed that higher spatial
abilities, associative memory, and field
independence were related to most of the
products and services whose usage ratios
were more than 50%. In addition to
computers, the WWW, and e-mail
mentioned above, the use group of copiers
showed significantly higher scores in
spatial visualization, spatial orientation,
associative
memory,
and
field
independence. Users of facsimiles showed
significantly higher score in spatial
orientation and field independence, and
also moderately higher scores in spatial
visualization and associative memory. The
use group of answering machines showed
significantly higher scores in spatial
orientation and moderately higher scores
in spatial visualization. VCR users showed
moderately higher spatial orientation, and
cellular phone users showed moderately
higher field independence. However,
among the products and services for wich
participants reported high usage ratios,
the results showed a reversed tendency
for microwave ovens and ATMs; the nonuse groups of these products showed
higher scores in most cognitive abilities,
except that microwave oven users
showed significantly higher associative
memory scores. The possible reason for
this result is discussed in the Discussion
section.
71
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
in some of the attitude subscales between
use and non-use groups. In addition to the
car navigation systems and self-operated
gas stations mentioned above, the use
group of car cruise control showed
significantly higher Gender Equality
subscale scores and moderately higher
scores in Comfort and Utility. The use
group of home security systems also
showed the general tendency that users
showed more positive attitudes in all but
Gender Equality subscales.
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December 2004,
Vo l 3 ,
No 2
7.4 (3.8)
9.0 (2.1)
7.5 (3.9)
7.3 (2.5)
7.9 (3.7)*
3.6 (3.1)
7.8 (3.6)+
4.7 (4.3)
7.9 (3.6) +
5.1 (4.2)
7.9 (3.6)
6.0 (4.3)
7.9 (3.7)
5.9 (3.7)
7.5 (3.9)
7.6 (3.5)
8.2 (3.8)+
6.0 (3.4)
7.9 (3.4)
6.9 (4.4)
8.5 (3.7)+
6.3 (3.7)
8.1(3.6)
7.3 (3.9)
8.9 (3.7)
7.0 (3.7)
9.4 (3.9)*
6.9 (3.6)
10.0 (1.8)**
7.0 (3.9)
7.9 (3.3)
7.4 (3.9)
7.9 (3.8)
7.4 (3.8)
7.9 (4.5)
7.5 (3.8)
Home security system
Self-operated gas station
Car cruise control
Car navigation system
Video game
Video camera
Computerized library catalogue
E-mail
Cellular phone
World Wide Web
CD player
7.7 (9.6)+
13.5 (2.1)
7.8 (9.7)
11.0 (6.0)
9.2 (8.8)**
-5.5 (6.1)
9.3 (9.0)**
-3.2 (6.1)
9.2 (9.4)*
-0.3 (5.4)
9.2 (9.3) +
2.8 (9.3)
9.3 (9.5)*
2.9 (7.9)
8.3 (9.6)
7.1 (9.7)
9.8 (9.7)+
4.1(8.1)
9.3 (9.1)
5.7 (10.0)
10.2 (10.3)+
5.1 (7.8)
11.2 (9.5)
6.6 (9.3)
9.5 (8.2)
7.4 (10.0)
10.2 (14.1)
7.2 (7.5)
11.5 (5.3)+
7.2 (10.1)
9.7 (6.6)
7.7 (10.0)
10.0 (5.8)
7.6 (10.0)
9.8 (10.0)
7.8 (9.6)
Spatial orientation
14.5 (6.4)**
8.5 (0.7)
13.7 (6.2)*
22.3 (4.7)
14.8 (6.4)*
8.3 (3.2)
14.8 (6.5)+
10.0 (4.0)
14.5 (6.5)
12.5 (6.0)
14.0 (6.0)
15.4 (8.2)
14.6 (6.3)
13.2 (6.9)
14.2 (6.2)
14.6 (7.1)
13.9 (6.0)
15.0 (7.4)
14.8 (6.6)
13.4 (6.1)
14.0 (5.5)
14.6 (7.5)
13.6 (5.7)
14.5 (6.8)
12.2 (3.6)+
15.1 (7.1)
15.7 (6.8)
13.8 (6.3)
12.6 (5.3)
14.6 (6.6)
14.0 (5.9)
14.3 (6.6)
14.1(5.1)
14.3 (6.7)
14.0 (6.2)
14.3 (6.5)
Associative memory
34.8 (10.5)
40.0 (8.5)
34.4 (9.9)
44.0 (15.6)
35.7 (10.4)
27.5 (7.5)
35.8 (10.5)
28.4 (7.1)
35.0 (10.7)
35.0 (8.6)
34.3 (9.4)
38.0 (13.9)
36.3 (10.2) +
30.2 (10.0)
34.8 (10.0)
35.3 (11.7)
35.3 (9.5)
34.3(12.3)
33.9 (10.8)
36.8 (9.6)
34.9(10.4)
35.0 (10.6)
35.4 (7.5)
34.8 (11.5)
29.8 (7.6)*
36.9 (10.7)
30.3 (9.8)+
36.6 (10.2)
33.0 (4.4)
35.4 (11.2)
36.9 (9.9)
34.7 (10.5)
31.7 (12.0)
35.6 (10.1)
33.0 (5.3)
35.2 (10.7)
Perceptual speed
8.1 (6.4)**
11.9 (0.2)
8.2 (6.5)
9.3 (3.4)
8.8 (6.3)*
3.4 (3.4)
9.1 (6.2)**
2.0 (2.9)
8.5 (6.7)
6.9 (1.2)
8.9 (6.6)
6.0 (4.6)
9.4 (6.5)**
4.4 (3.8)
8.5 (6.6)
7.9 (5.8)
9.3 (6.7)+
6.2 (5.0)
9.5 (6.9)+
6.3 (4.6)
10.6 (6.7)**
5.5 (4.5)
9.3 (7.0)
7.9 (6.0)
9.0 (6.9)
8.0 (6.2)
9.0 (7.3)
8.1 (6.0)
11.4 (6.5)
7.7 (6.2)
9.0 (4.9)
8.2 (6.6)
9.7 (6.6)
8.1 (6.3)
10.9 (8.0)
8.1 (6.2)
Field independence
21-12-2004 07:36
Computer
Video player/recorder
Answering machine
Facsimile
Copier
ATM
Spatial visualization
Microwave oven
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Use
Non-use
Products / Services
Table 5: Means and standard deviations (in parentheses) of cognitive test scores by usage groups of products / services (N = 47). Symbols indicate
significance levels of t tests between usage groups: ** p < .01; * p < .05; + p < .10
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Some of the computer attitude subscales
were also found to be related to the usage
of products and services whose usage
ratios were relatively low (less than 20%);
for most of these, the use groups showed
significantly higher scores in Comfort,
Gender Equality, and Utility attitude
subscales than the non-use groups. This
result suggests that these attitudes might
represent the users’ willingness to use the
products whose popularization is in an
early phase (Figure 1); the intention to try
technologies in this popularization phase
is expected to be determined by the users’
attitudes, rather than abilities. The differences in Comfort and Utility subscales were
not significant for a home security system.
This is considered to be due to the small
sample size (six) of the use group, which
might have made the result statistically not
significant. In fact, the difference in
Gender Equality subscale was significant,
and tendencies in Comfort and Utility
subscale scores were consistent with the
other three products/service. Thus the
Figure 1. Conceptual model of the
popularization of a product and its relation to
attitudes and cognitive abilities
Vo l 3 ,
December 2004,
Computer attitudes, such as Comfort and
Interest, were found to be related not only
to the usage of computers but also to
usage of a number of computerized
products and services including ATMs and
cellular phones, with which users interact
through computer-like screens and keys or
touchscreens. This result implies that the
measurement tools to assess computer
attitudes may also be predictors of the
usage of various computerized products.
above discussion is still considered to hold.
On the other hand, the results showed that
cognitive abilities, especially spatial abilities
and field independence, were related to the
use of products and services such as
copiers, facsimiles, answering machines,
computers, the WWW and e-mail, whose
usage ratios were more than 50%. This
result suggests that these cognitive abilities
might represent the usage of products that
were well popularized (Figure 1). In other
words, they may be related to the reasons of
the last group of people who refused such
new technologies. However, for the two
most popularized products and services, the
microwave oven and ATM, these cognitive
abilities were not significantly related; or
indeed the relations were even reversed so
that the use groups showed lower abilities.
One possible explanation for these two
exceptions is the small numbers of
participants in the non-use groups, as
mentioned in the Results section; because
these products and services have been
popularized for almost all of the general
population (94% for both), and there were
only three participants in the non-use groups,
the difference might not be statistically
reliable, or these small exceptions might have
special characteristics.
73
w w w. g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t
As discussed in the introduction, the
extent to wich older people are using
technologies shows great diversity among
individuals. The results showed that both
computer attitudes and cognitive abilities
of older adults could be related to some
extent to the diversity of their usage of
technology.
However,
those
two
categories of individual characteristics
were found to be related in somewhat
different ways.
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74
Contrarily, among the products whose
usage ratios were rather low, the usage of
video games and car navigation systems
were significantly related to spatial
abilities. This result is intuitive because
using these products presumably requires
user’s mental visualization or orientation
of the information presented; while using
these two products, the products
continuously provide users spatial
information (virtual or real) through
limited channels (displays or voices). In
order to utilize this information and further
interact with the products, users have to
reorganize perceived information and
construct its mental representations. That
the spatial abilities were also related to the
usage of computers and the WWW could
be similarly explained.
These relationships discussed above might
imply that the computer attitudes and
cognitive abilities may be predictors for
future technology usage. However, it is
also possible that these relationships are
rather mutual, such that usage may also
change computer attitudes and cognitive
abilities. Docampo Rama et al.32 mentioned the possibility that usage experience
with one interface type might “train”
certain cognitive abilities that were
necessary to use it. Umemuro and
Shirokane8 also discussed the mutual
relationship between computer usage and
computer attitudes in the long term. The
current study does not give any evidence
for the existence of causality or mutual
relationships; further study is needed to
give insights into this issue.
Although the sample size was not large,
this study found some significant
relationships among computer attitudes,
cognitive abilities, and technology usage.
A reason for this could be that the sample
employed was homogeneous; all
participants came from a similar region
around Tokyo, and were of a single ethnic
group (Japanese). Therefore, to further
generalize and confirm the findings of this
study, research with a much larger number
of participants with a wider variety of
characteristics needs to be pursued.
Finally, this study revealed relationships
among attitudes, cognitive abilities, and
technology use in just a one-time slice.
Changes in the usage of technology as
well as attitudes and cognitive abilities
also need to be studied, because all these
individual characteristics presumably
change over time, and may relate to each
other with time lags. Therefore research
into the dynamic changes of the
characteristics over a longer time period
might reveal causalities or mutual
relationships among them as discussed
above, and further, the possibilities of how
to use one for the prediction of others.
Acknowledgement
The author would like to thank the Center
for Research and Education on Aging and
Technology Enhancement (CREATE) for
sharing the questionnaires and test
batteries it developed. This study was
partially supported by the Grant-in-aid for
Encouragement of Young Scientists,
11780324, The Ministry of Education,
Science and Culture, Japan.
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Gerontechnology 2001;1(1):25-40